Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) talks with Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett in the first half of NFL football action at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Sunday, December 16, 2012.

MIAMI — Once Tony Romo’s evening comes
to an end, you’ll probably be able to count on one hand the number of
possessions the quarterback oversaw this preseason as he prepares for the
opener.

Is that enough? Feel free to debate but know it won’t change the Cowboys’
plan.

Head coach Jason Garrett has no intention of playing Romo into the second
half of Saturday night’s game against Miami at Sun Life Stadium. And he will not
expose the quarterback — or the vast majority of his starters — in the preseason
finale against Denver in five days.

What you see of the starting offense in the first half Saturday will have to
tide you over until this group returns to face San Francisco on Sept. 7.

“This will probably be our most action going into the season, so obviously
you want some good work,’’ tight end Jason Witten said. “You feel like you’ve
had a good camp. You want to play well in that last rehearsal for us and be on a
high going into the season.’’

Not much remains up in the air offensively. Ron Leary vs. Mackenzy Bernadeau
at left guard is the only starting job or key role up for grabs.

There’s much more to sort through on the defensive side of the ball. Will
George Selvie continue to start at left defensive end, or will Tyrone Crawford
do enough to persuade the coaching staff to move Selvie to the right side and
use Jeremy Mincey in reserve?

Will Rolando McClain claim the starting job at middle linebacker to push
Justin Durant to the weakside and bump Bruce Carter to the bench, or will Durant
stay in the middle flanked by Carter and Kyle Wilber?

“There are a number of guys at that linebacker position,’’ Garrett said. “I
can go on down the line.

“Really, anybody who’s on the roster has a chance to compete for a spot and
compete for a role.’’

There’s no competition at quarterback unless you count Dustin Vaughn’s
unlikely quest to make the final roster as the No. 3 quarterback. The focus is
on how many snaps Romo gets in the third preseason game and what he does with
them.

“You know we don’t really count snaps necessarily,’’ Garrett said.

The media does. So do fans. Romo took 14 snaps against Baltimore and had two
others negated by penalty.

“We’ll be around that range, maybe bump him up a little more,’’ Garrett said.
“Hopefully he gets a couple good drives in the game and he looks himself. He
looks comfortable, he’s sweating, he’s moving around and playing
spontaneously.

“That’s really what you’re looking for as much as anything else.’’

Romo threw five times in last week’s loss to the Ravens. He completed four
and had the fifth dropped.

This small sample size means there were a lot of patterns — like an out —
that he didn’t attempt. Neither Garrett nor Romo see this as an issue and don’t
believe there are any throws that the quarterback has to make in this game.

“I’ve done all those things,’’ Romo said. “I think more than anything you
just want to execute as an offense and go out and do well.

“We gauge a lot sometimes off of two drives. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes
it’s a little silly. Let’s pretend we have two drives or three drives this week
and score touchdowns on every one of them, it’s great. But you still have a full
game to play and you’re going to have to continue to execute throughout the
football game.

“We’ve just got to make sure that we’re consistently doing things day in and
day out, but not go crazy over a drive or two, good or bad. Just keep doing it
every day. It’s just not in the games. It’s in the practices as well.”

For the sake of argument, let’s say the starting offense finishes the
preseason with 35 snaps. Does that mean they’re less prepared than if they took
50 snaps?

“I don’t really worry about that,’’ Witten said. “I think you condition
yourself to get ready the way you practice in training camp.

“I think more than anything, you think about how you played in those snaps.
That’s where our focus is more than anything else.’’

The Cowboys’ starting offense was on the field for two touchdowns against
Baltimore. One came on a pass from Romo to Dez Bryant. The other came on a
botched handoff between Romo and DeMarco Murray that was returned for a
score.

“I know through my own experiences that if you struggle as a unit in the
preseason, I just don’t think it gets a lot easier,’’ Romo said. “And it’s kind
of like camp. If you’re struggling in camp against your defense, usually that’s
a sign that you’re going to have to try to come up with different ways.

“It doesn’t guarantee you success if you have a successful preseason, but it
definitely gives you a better chance for it.’’

Catch David Moore on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7 FM) with The Musers at 9:35 a.m. and The Hardline at 4:15 p .m. every Monday through Friday during the preseason.

To post a comment, log into your chosen social network and then add your comment below. Your comments are subject to our Terms of Service and the privacy policy and terms of service of your social network. If you do not want to comment with a social network, please consider writing a letter to the editor.